


I Don't feel so Well

by Rainbow_Trout



Series: Whumptober 2020 [21]
Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: Care, Fevers, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Infection, Support, Whumptober, good brothers, stomach bugs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:21:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27280381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainbow_Trout/pseuds/Rainbow_Trout
Summary: Whumptober Day 21 - infection.Casey gets another infection.
Relationships: Matthew Casey & Kelly Severide
Series: Whumptober 2020 [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1953733
Comments: 11
Kudos: 34
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	I Don't feel so Well

Casey was only really aware of how sore he was when he awoke. But not the running-onto-burning-buildings-with-sixty-pounds-of-gear sore, nor the roof-collapsed-on-me sore, but it felt as though his entire body had been pulled apart, aching and as though every muscle had been squeezed and bruised. His joints felt as though they had been pulled apart, left lying in the snow, and then rammed back together, and he felt as though lava had been poured into his guts.

Everything just _hurt._

A violent chill shook through him, and he felt as though his entire body was shaking. Something near him moved, and words drifted to him as though through a tube, “S’okay, buddy… just relax…”

But he couldn’t make sense of them as they reverberated around his skull, and he was unable to identify who the voice even came from. He wasn’t even able to understand that the hand stroking his forehead was trying to calm him, not hurt him. His eyes were barely open, but the onslaught of light was still too much. Something squeezed his arm– like a vice – and Casey whined.

“Hey, easy, bud… easy…"

The word ‘bud’ was familiar, and Casey sluggishly connected it to Severide. Tiredly, he forced his eyes back open and tried to peer up at his friend. He couldn’t understand why, but Kelly looked really, _really_ worried, “S…wro’n… s’wrong…”

But his words only seemed to increase Severide’s worry, and he repeated that Casey should relax. Matt briefly found himself wondering _how_ he could relax when Severide was so worried, but before he could say anything, his head throbbed, and Casey slammed his eyes shut as he whined in pain.

Something was yet again toughing him, and Casey was barely aware of his actions as he tried to roll away.

But he hadn’t got far, and the slight movement caused the lava in his stomach to gurgle and it felt as though it was burning a hole in him. He couldn’t even turn his head as his stomach rebelled, burning bile searing his lips and running down his chin, where it quickly became cold and sticky. Something that he could only identify as sandpaper touched his chin, scratching him, but he didn’t have the energy to moan.

His eyes drifted shut as he passed out.

* * *

As soon as Matt was down for the count, Severide quickly moved into the bathroom, throwing the toilet paper into the trash. He’d come home earlier that day to see Casey curled up next to the toilet, vomit covering the bottom of his shirt. He’d been concerned, of course, and had tried to rouse him, but Matt had been totally delirious, blue slits seeing nothing as he asked Kelly why he was so concerned.

The blonde had co-operated enough to get changed and into bed, Severide constantly battering off his concern. Matt had then fallen asleep, seemingly peaceful, until his fever spiked. Severide had done his best to force meds into him, but Matt’s stubborn body only heaved up the tablets as soon as they went in.

Re-wetting the wash cloth that he’d been dampening for the better part of the day, Severide returned to Casey’s side, brow furrowing in concern as he pressed it firmly against his temple. Matt murmured in his sleep, leaning slightly into his grasp, and Kelly sighed as he settled in for a long night.

* * *

Casey’s eyes flittered open weakly, before shutting abruptly. His head was pounding, he felt beyond weak. His joints all hurt, his stomach hurt, he didn’t really know where he was. And he was alone. That was what struck with him the hardest.

Slowly, he opened his eyes again, surprised to see he was lying in bed. He groaned. He wanted anything other than to move, but if the dryness in his throat was anything to go by, he needed to. He tried lifting his arm, but even that was a struggle.

His vision blurred as he tried to roll onto his side. He just needed to sit up. Then he could stand. Then get water. Then possibly lie down again.

But the sequence of tasks seemed so hard.

He managed to pull himself to the end of the bed, slipping his legs over the side. Maybe he could combine sitting and standing? It definitely appealed to him. The idea of less tasks suited him.

He groaned as his feet touched the floor. It felt as though he had stepped on knives. But he needed to drink. He could feel his knees buckling before he was even standing, yet somehow, in some fluid motion, he managed to swing himself up to a standing position.

But he wasn’t up for long before he was falling. He could see the hard-wood floor rapidly coming towards him, and he closed his eyes in preparation.

A splintering sound attacked his ears, making his head feel as though it was about to implode. But strangely, he had never felt the impact – all he could feel was something soft. Something soft and warm. He was unable to register that it was arms around him, but he could hear Severide’s shocked voice, “Woah, careful, buddy.”

He frowned, still not entirely sure where he was, “Sev’ri’e?”

He felt Severide nodding, carefully adjusting him so he was in a more comfortable position. Blearily, Casey looked at his brother, seeing the concern marred across his features.

“C’mon, Case. Get you back to bed.”

Casey felt Severide lift him up, hoisting him up under his armpits. Dizziness assailed him again as he reached full height, but before Casey’s body could react Severide had him lying down again.

Kelly’s concerned face popped up over his, “How are you feeling?”

Casey didn’t know how to respond, didn’t even really know what the question meant. His entire body was aching, and he couldn’t really breathe, but Severide was here?

_Severide was here?_

His response was much more of a grunt than anything else, and he felt Kelly’s calloused hand touch his forehead, then he was gently brush his hair back.

“Casey? Can I check your temperature?”

Matt blinked, trying to process Severide’s words. Kelly was leaning over him, still looking at him in concern. Casey only just realised he was holding a thermometer, and he nodded sleepily.

He felt Severide insert the thermometer between his lips, then drifted until a shrill beep made pain stab through his head.

“Sorry, Case.”

He felt Severide tug it away and look, then smile lightly. “Well, 100.3 sure is better than _103.”_

Casey blinked again, struggling to process the information Severide had given him. Kelly waited a moment, then frowned in concern, “Although, I think you’re still pretty out of it.”

Finally, Casey sluggishly looked over to Severide, blinking tiredly, “What?”

Kelly smiled and said simply, “You’ve been sick.”

That explained why he felt so awful, “S-sorry.”

Severide rolled his eyes, “Don’t worry, get some rest, Case.”

He could feel himself drifting off, and it did feel nice to have Severide sitting beside him. Because Kelly was warm, his protector. He felt safe next to Kelly, and he couldn’t resist but nuzzle into his side.

Kelly’s hand was on his back again, and it just felt _amazing._ Contentedly, he sighed, eyes almost shut until he felt Severide shift. Kelly must have thought he was asleep, because he slowly extracted his arm from Casey’s hold.

Matt moaned, reaching out to regrip him. Severide apologised, but Casey was already awake.

“Don’ leave.”

“I won’t, buddy, I won’t. There’s some glass on the floor, I was going to clean that up. But I’m staying with you.”

Matt relaxed once again. He was still clinging desperately to Severide’s shirt, even though he wouldn’t have the strength if it weren’t for Severide holding his wrist close. Casey wished he could wake up, make sense of everything, but all he knew was that he wanted Severide’s comfort. He was weak, felt as though he could barely move, and his head hurt.

He must have moaned again, because Severide was rubbing his arm, “S’alright, bud. Just sleep. You’ll feel better.”

Casey had no idea why, but just Severide saying those words made him feel better. He could feel his breathing evening out, before a thought occurred to him.

“Sev.”

Severide shifted again, “Yeah, bud.”

Casey frowned, already forgetting what he’d been thinking. Severide didn’t seem surprised, still rubbing circles on his arm. Why wasn’t Severide surprised? What had happened?

_Oh, that was the question._

“Wha’ happen’d?”

Softly, “You’ve been really sick. Your fever is lower now, but you’re probably tired. Don’t worry about anything.”

Matt frowned slightly, turning his head to the side and seeing a mass of medications on the dresser. And an IV pole?

The only noise that escaped his lips was a glorified grunt, but Severide somehow understood.

“I had Shay come past. You were pretty adamant you didn’t want to go to a hospital.”

There seemed to be more that Kelly wasn’t saying, “Sorry.”

Severide shook his head, “No more of that. Hospital would have been uncomfortable anyway. Least here you can puke in your own bed.”

Severide had meant it as a joke. It was true that cleaning puke wasn’t his first preference, but he hadn’t minded in the slightest, being far more concerned about Casey than his vomit. But Casey had frowned, “Too annoying?”

Severide frowned, “Huh?”

“Me… being too ‘noying?”

Severide rolled his eyes, “Of course not, buddy. You’ve been sick. That’s all.”

Casey looked as though he was about to protest again, so Severide cut him off, “Matt, really. You’ve been asleep for most of it.”

Finally relaxing, Casey closed his eyes and rolled into Severide. Kelly gently wrapped an arm around him, smiling down at him as he drifted off.

* * *

Overnight, Casey’s fever spiked once more – once again horribly anxious to know why Severide looked so concerned – before it broke, leaving him shivery and weak. Kelly had stood him up and got him to the couch in the corner of the room, changing his bed covers before changing Casey and bundling him back up. Casey was still half-asleep from exhaustion, and Severide knew that his shower could wait.

Severide had then climbed in beside him, and even though Casey had already drifted off into a very deep healing sleep, he scooted closer to the squad lieutenant. Severide had smiled and returned his hand to the truck Lieutenant’s chest, before drifting off himself.

* * *

The next morning, Severide was putting the finishing touches on the soup that he was planning on forcing into Casey. Matt had seemed to be doing better, his face not as flushed and he wasn’t clinging to the blankets anymore, and Severide knew that he now needed to get some nutrients into him. He’d already called them both in for shift, explaining to Boden that he didn’t think Casey was ready to be left alone yet. Boden had, of course, been understanding.

Severide carried the soup back to Casey’s room, setting it by his dresser and looking at Casey’s sleeping face. He thought it was cute, Casey sleeping. Especially given he was now looking less ill and more like himself. In fact, Casey’s sleep looked so peaceful that he didn’t want to wake him, so he gently eased himself down next to his brother. Casey snuffled. Then he whined slightly, shifting and pushing against Severide. 

“It’s alright, Matt. You’re okay.”

Casey blinked awake, flinching slightly at the brightness that was coming though his window. He realised Severide was holding his hand, and looked up at him.

“Kel… what?” 

“You’ve been really, really sick, bud. Your fever broke, though. You look a lot better.”

Casey sighed, trying to work out what was going on, before nodding.

“I have some soup for you… you haven’t managed to keep down much, but it’s just clear, with a little star pasta. I think you’ll be fine with it.”

Casey’s mind was reeling with the information, but still, he nodded. Kelly murmured that he was going to sit him up, and Casey slowly allowed him to do just that.

“Here… Case? Take a mouthful…”

He started feeding Casey the soup, caringly filling up spoon after spoon and blowing it before holding it to Casey’s lips. Casey had slumped against his shoulder, eyes barely open. And Kelly knew that if he was any less exhausted, he’d probably be wrestling the spoon off him. But Matt already seemed half-way back to dreamland.

It wasn’t until Severide noticed tears in Casey’s eyes did he realise that he was forcing too much into him too soon, and that out of pride, Matt wasn’t saying anything.

“Case, we’ll go at your pace. It’s okay.”

But Casey just frowned, then swallowed convulsingly. Thankfully, Severide saw what was going to happen next, and without spilling the contents, put the bowl to the side and held the bucket under Casey’s mouth.

Casey heaved up all he had eaten – silent – before spitting the bile out. He slumped against Severide further. His eyes were hurting, and everything was too bright. He could feel Kelly’s hand against his forehead, before it pushed his hair back and his fingers gently messaged his scalp.

“Fever’s not back. Think it was just too much too soon. Sorry, Case. My fault.”

“Mmmm… not your fault, Sevvy.”

Severide felt relieved. Casey hadn’t said much, and he was glad that he at least seemed aware.

“Alright… Shay’s gonna come past later to remove the IV… you don’t have to be awake for that.”

Casey merely nodded, already feeling as though he was falling asleep.

“We both have next shift off… that’s the day after tomorrow. Then I think Boden wants you resting for a couple more days. We’ll see how we go.”

Casey nodded again, yawning and leaning into Severide’s warmth. He didn’t register that they’d both already had one shift off, nor did he care. He’d never felt so safe in his life. Not even when he’d been a child and been held in his mother’s arms – he’d always known something was wrong.

“C’mon, Matty. Let’s lie you down.”

Matt smiled at the use of his pet name. As Severide was lowering him to the mattress, he couldn’t help but think about how far their relationship had come. From him terrorizing Casey over Andy’s death, to the blonde being able to trust him again. Because he knew how hard it was to get trust from Casey, and he wasn’t going to mess it up this time.”

“Sev.”

“Mmm hmm?”

Casey blinked, then drowsily smiled, “Thanks.”

Severide smiled, “No worries, buddy. You know you don’t need to thank me.”

Casey reached out, weakly clutching at Severide’s hand. Kelly took it and squeezed it tightly, seeing that Casey was already half-way back to sleep.

“Sev.”

Severide just squeezed his hand this time, knowing that he was going to be asleep before he could manage another sentence. He put a hand to his forehead. Still warm, but no fever. He softly waited as Casey drifted off, hoping that he would sleep well now his fever had broken.

Sure enough, before long, Casey’s breathing slowed and evened out, and his face had relaxed. Severide smiled down at him. It was unusual to see Casey so still, as far as Severide was concerned, the man never stopped. In the height of his fever, Casey had been delirious and writhing in the sheets. But it _was_ calming in a way… just to see that Casey could relax.

He settled in beside him, not letting go of the blonde’s hands. Hopefully, one day, Casey would be calm like this all the time… but until then, Severide would be right there.

**Author's Note:**

> So this one was half-written then had changes made then was half-written again so I apologise if it's unclear or changes tense :)


End file.
